U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio didn't mince words Wednesday, telling a packed house: "We do have some challenges in America. It starts with we have a bad president."

The audience erupted in applause.

Florida's Republican senator described himself as optimistic, despite what he sees as Barack Obama's disastrous presidency. "We've had that before, and we've overcome it, and we'll overcome it again."

He said Democrats' focus on income inequality is misplaced; the real problem is "opportunity inequality." He chided Obama for offering what Rubio said is a vision that "big government" will improve the economy and solve the nation's problems. Instead, he said, the country needs much more rapid growth, promoted by changes in tax laws, a reduced national debt and greater innovation.

And with the preface that "this is where some people get nervous," Rubio said: "Values still matter." He said that's not a prescription for whether or how people should worship, but a premise that standards such as hard work and discipline are important and a lament that strong families and culture have eroded.

Rubio also called for better U.S. leadership in the international arena. "The world will increasingly be global. It always has been. That's why it's called the globe," he said. Absent American leadership, he warned of a troublesome vacuum. "And that vacuum will be filled. And it may not be filled by Belgium or France or Italy. It might be filled by Iran and China and Russia and al-Qaida and radical jihadists."

He got zero disagreement from the audience at the Palm Beach Republican Club, where he spoke to almost 300 of the most involved political activists — those who volunteer in the trenches of political campaigns and those who have the means to write big campaign checks. This was no jeans and T-shirt crowd at Palm Beach's Colony Hotel; the most casually dressed men were the ones with jackets but no ties.

Rubio delivered a polished political speech – no notes and no teleprompter, observed Meg Shannon, a retired lawyer from Palm Beach Gardens – with elements of his personal story and policy prescriptions that he's been advocating for years. Now he's deciding whether to seek re-election in 2016 or run for president. He didn't have time for audience questions, but told reporters he didn't have anything to offer about possible presidential ambitions.

"I don't have any today, no. I'm just here to see my constituents," he said.

After the speech, he left for a $1,000-per-person reception and a $10,000-per-person dinner, with proceeds to benefit the Rubio Victory Committee.